The Estoril Conferences are
happening at a very interesting
time, when Portugal is at the
brink of bankruptcy. The country
was bailed out and is living
under an external protectorate
– and will continue to do so for
several years – but the signs have
yet to be clear. It is not growing
enough, it has not found a model
that marries employment with
innovation, and it is living
without its own solution to bring

together labour market flexibility
and social protection. In the last
six months, it has debated State
reform, but without any practical
effects. It tried, but stopped short
at the accounting stage.
There is no model for transformation, or an idea that will
allow for a transition from a
bloated State to one with less
public power and more private
enterprise.
“The problem, beyond being
one of bookkeeping, is cultural
and philosophical. Sociologist
Anthony Giddens, who will
speak in Estoril on Friday, has
an interesting view of what a
welfare State is (and what it
should be). “The modern welfare
state should be more concerned
with developing skills and less
with protecting them.” “Of course
people need to be protected,”
Giddens says, but “protecting
them means investing in them,
developing their skills, not
paying them to pick up the
scraps.” I hope that Giddens will
talk about Portugal: The fear that
he talks about fits in well with our
corporative responses to State

“Even if no new
model of welfare
State comes out of it,
the debate promises
to be a good one.”

“It’s a great platform to understand
how can we, future leaders, make
hope possible.”

Arjun Mali, Holanda | The Netherlands

Zaitoon Shah, Holanda | The Netherlands

reform.
But Giddens’ problem also hangs
over Europe. There is a systemic
doubt about the ability of the Old
World to create employment and
to sustain a social fabric that
has been accustomed to another
level of economic wealth. Over
the last ten years, the classic
liberal view of a minimalist State
has come up against Europe’s
– and America’s – inability to
cope with new economic models.
Less sustainable and more
aggressive models that are less
concerned with acquired rights
and the general distribution of
wealth. The European Union,
which was once enthusiastic
about its common project, is
also coping badly with these new
powerhouses. It has coped so
badly that in the last two years,
since the sovereign debt crisis
plunged almost the whole of
Southern Europe into insolvency,
the neighbours to the north have
become increasingly self-centred.
Nowadays the EU has given up
on being uniform. The polarities
of rich and poor, creditors and
debtors have led to growing
imbalances that foreshadow new
types of insularity. Because of
all of this, and to debate it all,
the Estoril conferences will be
interesting. Even if no new model
of welfare State comes out of it,
the debate promises to be a good
one.
Assistant editor of Dinheiro Vivo

“ Há muitos oradores a falar sobre a
globalização (...) para incentivar o
empreendorismo em setores onde ainda
ninguem apostou e isso é uma parte
essencial do futuro.”
“Many of the speakers are talking about
globalization, fostering entrepreneurship in
sectors where no bets have been made and
that is a key part of the future.”
Sinjy Rajpoot, EUA | USA

with it a number of Portuguese
and foreign personalities – the
opening session was attended by
Portugal’s Prime Minister Pedro
Passos Coelho – security is no
trifling matter.
Particularly at a time when
terrorist threats have arisen
again. The level of alert is orange,
which is one of the highest levels,
and is put in place every time
government figures or former
heads of state are involved.
To get an idea of the complexity
of this kind of operation we spoke
to three officials representing the
three security teams involved –
MW - Work Security - Segurança
Privada, Lda, responsible for
security within the conference
centre perimeter, the Cascais
Municipal Police and the Public
Security Police.
In order to arrive at the Estoril
Congress Centre there are
several checkpoints in place.
Municipal police officers are
on the front line. “We have 40
municipal police officers and 12
staff providing logistics support
for our mission to control traffic,
control access and fence off
areas,” explains Carlos Coelho,
Director of the Municipal Police
and Inspection Department.
This is a mission in which many
officers have been involved from
the beginning, by attending
preparatory meetings with the
police force that, ultimately,
commands the entire operation the PSP. Sub-commissioner João
Moura, of the National Directorate
of the PSP, did not reveal the
number of officers involved but
a quick glance around makes it
clear there are a lot of them. The
Police Special Unit, along with
its dogs, carries out pre-emptive
searches of the conference centre

and its underground floors for
explosives, or other objects.
The Special Operations Group,
through its snipers, who are an
invisible but constant presence,
watches every move in the area of
the conference centre. Out on the
street, service officers patrol the
traffic and security operations
and the Personal Safety Corps
is in charge of security of the
personalities inside the building.
After receiving their accreditation
participants are guided into the
Conference Centre, where Mário
Lavrador, one of the people
in charge of MW explains the
entrance process. “Everyone that
comes in here has to go through
a walk-through security archway
for inspection. If there is any
suspicion the public security
police will deal with the matter.”
This work needs some planning.
The company took over a month
to prepare the Estoril Conferences
operation. “We do our utmost to
use people that have previous
experience of this kind of event,
to make things easier. Then it’s a
case of adjusting to unexpected
and one-off situations. Because
we are here to solve all kinds of
problems,” he says.
Beyond ensuring the safety of
all participants, Mário Lavrador
has another requirement for
all the members of his team:
“To do this job they have to be
intelligent, friendly and alert
people. Politeness, composure
and friendliness are essential.”
When all is said and done, the art
of good hosting in Estoril.

of the third edition of the Estoril
Conferences. “Over the last few years
this has been a privileged forum to
discuss the problems of globalisation,”
noted the head of the Portuguese
government
demonstrating
the
interest the Portuguese have in “being
agents of history.” Summarising the
current situation and setting out
Portugal’s future within the context
of the European Union and the
concert of Nations, Passos Coelho
acknowledged that the freedom of
choice of the Portuguese people had
been diminished due to the weight
of the country’s circumstances and
its heritage: “All political projects,
whether on the right or the left,
need their public accounts in order.”
Warning that a second financial
crisis in Portugal “would have
irreversible consequences,” the Prime
Minister showed some confidence
in the future: “I have no doubt that
out best days are yet to come,” he
said. “Days in which the Portuguese,
through science, diplomacy, the arts
and language, will be called upon
to make a difference in the world.”
This is where the Prime Minister’s
speech touched upon the first of the

afternoon’s speeches. Carlos
Carreiras, the Mayor of
Cascais, recalled Portugal’s
historical tradition – “a people
that is a sum of peoples”
– in order to prepare for an
alliance of countries and of
people starting in Estoril;
starting on a local level. “If we
can think beyond borders we
will find traditions and roots
that link people everywhere.
We will find the willingness
to make new alliances
and to reinstate old ones
everywhere, and everywhere
we will find goodwill,” said
Carlos Carreiras. The call for
global change starting on a
local level ended with a plea:
“Even if you don’t believe in
this Utopia of mine, or in my
view of the world, I am at least
certain that we have one belief
in common: Everything is in
our hands.”

da Juventude pretendem apoiar os
jovens de todo o mundo a potenciar
as suas características e valores,
como a liderança pessoal, através da
transformação do pensamento crítico
em acções práticas, permitindo o
desenvolvimento de novos líderes com
ideias inovadoras.
The Youth Summit brought together
young people from several countries
to motivate them to make their
ambitions a reality, by encouraging
them to find their own local answers to
the challenges of globalisation. “We
will continue to focus on supporting
Youth,” said Miguel Pinto Luz, the
deputy Mayor of Cascais, at the
opening of the Youth Summit on the
first day of the Estoril Conferences.
This is the fist time that the Estoril
Conferences have had a Youth Summit
to promote greater involvement of the
younger generations. The event was
sponsored by the World Bank and is
promoted by the Rotterdam School
of Management. It is based on the “I
WILL” initiative, which encourages
young people to share their ambition
with the world and make it a reality.

“Having a goal and fighting
for it can really make a
difference. Having a clear
goal and knowing what you
want gives you a better chance
of achieving it,” said Dirk Van
Dierendonck of the Rotterdam
School of Management.
Television presenter Síl-via
Alberto also took part and
talked about her experience as
a volunteer with the Médecins
du Monde Association. “My
visibility as a presenter helped
me to promote this cause.
Everyone has something to
offer, we just need to find out
how we can help,” the presenter
said.
The “I WILL” initiative and the
Youth Summit are intended to
help students, from all over
the World, to realize their
intellectual and personal
leadership potential.
This is done by transforming
critical thinking into practical
action, thus allowing new
leaders with innovative ideas
to emerge.

DITO . SAID
“O nosso sistema atual não é
suficiente para nos permitir
mudar.”
“Our current system is
inadequate to allow us to
change.”
David Thomas

“Da conclusão sólida dos
processos de ajustamento em
países como Portugal sairá,
não tenho dúvidas, uma
Europa mais solidária e mais
coesa.”
“I have no doubt that a more
united and cohesive Europe
will emerge from the solid
conclusion of adjustment
processes in countries such as
Portugal.”
Pedro Passos Coelho

“Vivemos na era do paradoxo:
nunca conhecemos tanto
sobre o mundo e ao mesmo
tempo nunca nos sentimos tão
perdidos nele”
“We live in a paradoxical time:
We have never understood so
much about the world and, at
the same time, we have never
been so lost in it”
Carlos Carreiras

O Barefoot College também
investe e acredita nos idosos.
Qual é o potencial deles?
Os idosos são a trave mestra de
uma sociedade. Se for a aldeias em
qualquer lado do mundo, são os
muito velhos ou os muitos novos
que lá estão. O nível intermédio
desapareceu para ir à procura de
trabalho. Por isso aposto neles,
nos idosos, porque sei que as
suas competências ficam lá e
são transferidas. Tornaram-se
exemplos perfeitos para as pessoas.
A verdade é que nunca pensamos
que uma avó possa tornar-se um
exemplo numa aldeia. Impossível.
Pelo menos em África podemos
mostrar que é possível.
Se em Portugal quiséssemos
aplicar apenas um dos princípios
do Barefoot College deveria ser
a aposta nos mais velhos? Seria
uma maneira de mudar as coisas?
Claro, devem começar pelas
coisas mais simples. Mas sejam
consistentes. Não desistam apenas
porque falham uma vez. Tendemos
a desistir depressa. Quanto mais
longe chegamos nas nossas
qualificações menos coragem
temos para tentar coisas novas.
Porque ninguém gosta de mostrar
que falhou.
Can you tell me a little bit about
the Barefoot College? Why
Barefoot?
It is Barefoot because symbolically
many men and women walk
barefoot in India. It is symbolic of
traditional knowledge and skills
which are not respected, underutilized. It’s a college because
it’s a place for learning and
“unlearning”. It’s a college where
the teacher is a learner and the
learner is a teacher. It’s a college
with a difference because we don’t
give any paper qualifications and
degrees after learning. It is the
community that should certify what
they have learned, or should have
learned at the barefoot college.
So it’s a community endorsement,
which is much more important than
a university or college certificate.

THE BAREFOOT
MODEL IS SHOWING
YOU CAN DO IT LESS
EXPENSIVELY, MORE
EFFECTIVELY, MORE
ACCOUNTABLY”.
I think that is what makes the
Barefoot approach unique.
Do you think it’s possible to
bring that approach to Western
countries?
No. Because you are so hung up
on certification. You have a vested
interest in people being certified
and getting a paper degree.
Behind a paper degree people hide
incompetence. I’m not sad because
I think the Barefoot mode is much
more required in the third and
fourth world, because these places
are being destroyed by Western aid.
This model is showing you can do it
less expensively, more effectively,
more accountably.
The Barefoot College also invests
and believes in older people. Can
you tell me about their potential?
Older people are the mainstay
of society. If you go to villages
anywhere in the world it is only
the very old and the very young

who are staying. The middle
levels have gone looking for jobs.
So I am investing in them, in the
older people who make sure that
their skills remain, who transfer
them. They have become perfect
role models for people. I mean,
never have we ever thought that
a grandmother can become a role
model in a village. Impossible. At
least in Africa we can show another
way is possible.
If in Portugal we were to apply
just one of the Barefoot principles,
should it be believing in older
people? Do you think it would be
a way to change things?
Of course, you can start small. But
be consistent.
Don’t give up just because you
fail once. We tend to give up very
fast. The higher you go in terms of
qualification, the less courage you
have to try anything new. Because
you don’t want to show you’ve
failed.